Adapted from a play by Ins Choi, CBC’s Kim’s convenience quickly became one of Canada’s best-loved sitcoms. Balancing between light-hearted charm and the occasional serious drama, Kim’s convenience was a breath of fresh air on television. It told the story of a Korean-Canadian family living in Toronto, with: The Mandalorian‘s Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Shang-Chi‘s Simu Liu. The series not only resonated with Canadian audiences, but also achieved international success after its debut on Netflix.
Sky-high ratings, a devoted fan base and a growing viewership it seemed Kim’s convenience had a bright future. Unfortunately, things happened behind the scenes, and Kim’s convenience came to an abrupt end after a five-season run. The show may be over, but Kim’s has lived on in the hearts of fans around the world. This is why the series was suddenly canceled after it was already renewed for season 6.
Renewed for two more seasons
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Satisfied with the show’s performance, CBC announced in March 2020 that: Kim’s convenience was renewed for two more seasons. The following year, however, it was revealed that those seasons would not take place. This was not due to the show’s ratings, but rather the departure of the show’s two creators; Ins Choi and Kevin White. Producer Ivan Fecan told: The globe and mail that “as of the start of season 5, Ins wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue.” Despite both the fans and the cast wanting to finish a final season, Choi wasn’t interested in coming back.
Campaigns to save Kim’s convenience were started by fans, but Liu pointed out that it could not be “saved”. In a Facebook post that has since been deleted (via Vanity Fair), Liu wrote that the show did not reach its traditional end to be canceled after poor reviews. He said the producers were “the ones who chose not to continue.” Without Choi, the producers saw no future Kim’s convenience. CBC and Netflix only had a license for Kim’s conveniencewhich prevented them from continuing the series themselves.
Problems behind the scenes
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While the cast of Kim’s convenience expressing their love and gratitude for the show, they revealed that working on it wasn’t always such a pleasant experience. Kim’s was very clearly about a Korean Canadian family but lacked writers who were East Asian or women for authentic rendering. Jean Yoon revealed on Twitter that there were no Korean writers or Korean cultural resources in the writer’s room. Choi may have written the original piece and created the show, but so did Yoon shared on Twitter that “Kevin White was the showrunner” and “clearly set the parameters”. Some of the storylines presented to the cast are said to be extremely culturally inaccurate.
Liu echoed many of Yoon’s comments while still reiterating that he loved the show. In a now unavailable post on Facebook, Liu wrote of being frustrated with all the missing storytelling opportunities. For a show that lasted more than four years, Kim’s convenience felt stagnant at times and often failed to develop its characters in meaningful ways. Even after becoming a Marvel superhero, Liu wanted to continue his work on Kim’s convenience despite the cast getting “an absolute number of horse shit”. He told The Hollywood Reporter that the way Kim’s ended felt like a “betrayal” and that he felt other voices of color could have continued the show.
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Lee worked with Choi for over 10 years and appeared in the original Kim’s convenience play. Like the rest of the cast, Lee was taken aback by the show’s sudden cancellation. This prompted him to contact Choi, as he learned that Choi was no longer interested in talking to him. Lee told The Canadian Press;
He haunted me. He wouldn’t answer my calls or my texts, and eventually replied via email that he wasn’t talking about it. And that was it.
of what the Kim’s convenience cast has said about Choi, it seems that none of them were particularly close to the series creator. Liu has become famous, describing Choi as “epicly withdrawn” (via CBC). Whether Choi is just introverted or just disliked his cast has remained unknown. When he left the show, Liu said he didn’t leave a goodbye note for the cast. Though the way Choi pulled the plug Kim’s convenience did not portray him in the most favorable light, without him there was never one Kim’s convenience. A lot is based on Choi Kim’s on his own personal experiences and even played Jung in the original play. It seems he doesn’t want anyone to take control of his creation.
Kevin White advances to Strays spin-off
After the end of Kim’s convenienceWhite helped develop a spin-off series called strayed. The series revolves around Kim’s convenience character Shannon Ross, who left the city of Toronto, left her job at Handy Car Rentals and her relationship with Jung. Working as an executive director at an animal shelter in Hamilton, Ontario, Shannon turned a Kim’s supporting character in the lead role of her own show. strayed has not yet become as popular as Kim’s conveniencebut premiered in 2022 with a second season.